


Family finds you

by darkfire_blade



Category: Naruto
Genre: Adoption, Beta Wanted, Canon-Typical Violence, Child Abandonment, Eventual Romance, F/M, Gen, Grandpa Gai, Kakashi and Gai are basically married, Konoha Village, Lee makes everything better, M/M, Make it better, Single Parents, Unresolved past, Where did Metal Lee come from?, Where did Rock Lee come from?, Who do you think inspired Gaara to adopt?, everyone knows except them, it takes a village, raising a child is hard, sad childhood
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-23
Updated: 2017-08-23
Packaged: 2018-12-18 21:16:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11882985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkfire_blade/pseuds/darkfire_blade
Summary: A firm hand settled on Lee’s shoulder as Kakashi paused in the doorway, murmur unfamiliarly soft. “Simply put: you’re the best choice for this mission.”What starts out as a simple escort mission sends Lee spiraling on the rollercoaster that is life.





	Family finds you

**Author's Note:**

> Note: So I've been thinking about this ever since finding out about Metal Lee and his lack of parenting information. And then about Lee and his lack of parenting information--and all this has kind of word-vomited from there!

“D-D-rank mission?!”

 

To say that Lee was confused regarding his most recent mission assignment would be an understatement.

 

“Ah...please excuse me,” Lee put on his most charming smile as he extended the scroll back to the mission desk shinobi. Of course it would be all too easy to mix his scroll up with someone else’s. The man employed looked positively overworked, but Rock Lee was Understanding. “I think there must have been a mistake. This must have gotten mixed up.”

 

Either unaffected by the Charming Smile or unseeing, the other man yawned and shook his head before handing off someone else’s assignment. “No no, no mistake. S’got your name on it.” 

 

Lee’s face fell with a comical startle. “But...but…a D-rank mission?” As if repeating himself would gain a better response.

 

The frustrated hand wave he received back gave no explanation or solace. And when the man noticed Lee’s plaintive look, he snorted. “Look. I’m just handin’ out the missions here. If it’s got your name on it, it’s yours, signed by the Hokage and everythin’.” Said Hokage wasn’t even here yet to affirm, his seat glaringly empty. “Now move, you’re gettin’ in the way.” 

 

Any attempts to protest were quickly stifled as grumbling hands from the rest of the line pulled Lee back, sending him spinning down the line and into the bustling hallway of the Academy, offending mission scroll still clenched in hand. It’s been years since passing the chuunin exams (take two) that any D-rank had popped into his hands. What...what would Gai-sensei--

 

_ “There is no mission too menial in passionate service to your village!”  _ The image of his mentor’s gleaming smile and booming voice rang loud and clear. Even his wheelchair sparkled.

 

At that Lee’s frown straightened into a determined line and his hands lifted into resolute fists. Let it not be said that Rock Lee showed any sort of sourness to any mission! No matter the rank! 

 

“Usually one reads their mission scroll before crushing it into oblivion.”

 

Wha--? Broken out of his passionate self-avowal, Lee opened his eyes to the sight of sweeping white robes and the lazy glance of two grey eyes inches before him. His reaction was immediate. “Rokudaime!” Lee’s cheeks burned and he scissored into a low bow, narrowly headbutting the man before him in the process. 

 

A slight cough. “...Maa, Lee.” The voice that had previously had been light and playful turned awkward. “I’ve told you before, Kakashi-sensei is just fine.” Pale hands appeared in Lee’s vision and slowly waved him back into a standing position.

 

Two years of being Hokage and apparently Kakashi still wasn’t used to the posturing and honorifics. And Lee was not used to doing without them.

 

“Kakashi-sensei--” Lee fiddled with the leading edge of the admittedly crumpled scroll in his hands. 

 

“Yo.” 

 

Kakashi’s stance was casual and the visible half of his face cheerfully neutral as he watched Lee struggle in thoughts. Always so cool!

 

“--Did I have inadequate performance in my last mission?” Lee steeled himself, eyes glued on the man before him, ready to receive whatever criticism might come directly from the Hokage’s mouth. “I will redeem myself, that’s a promise!”

 

The neutral expression lifted and Kakashi’s gaze flickered between the scroll being worried in bandaged fingers and Lee’s resolute stare. It’s as if he could already tell the harsh training regimen brewing in the jounin’s mind.

 

“I don’t know why I’m still surprised at the similarities between you two,” Kakashi said with a clearly amused sigh and shrug. 

 

That wasn’t a response Lee was expecting to hear. 

 

Kakashi, seemingly oblivious to Lee’s confused squawks, shrugged and began walking forward. A firm hand settled on Lee’s shoulder as Kakashi paused in the doorway, murmur unfamiliarly soft. “Simply put: you’re the best choice for this mission.” The hand withdrew and footsteps continued as the Hokage sauntered away. Back was Kakashi’s typical stride and a drawl in his voice, he waved. “Tell Gai I’ll be late tonight.”

 

With that, the Hokage vanished into the mission room, no look back at Lee’s waving arms and stunned face.

  
  
  
  


The mission instructions were clear: rendezvous with the client at the Sen family compound and bring them back to Konoha. More details regarding the individual client and destination would be provided upon arrival and discrepancy was required. Perhaps it was speed that so suited Lee’s placement on this mission! If that was the case then he would collect the client and bring them back to Konoha before sundown or repeat this trip fifty times forwards and backwards!

 

“Yosh!”

 

Lee grinned, finishing his sprint at a trot in front of his destination: a large walled compound a few hours run from Konoha. He fished in his pockets, unfurling the slightly crumpled mission scroll.  One bandaged arm shielded the midday sun out of his vision as Lee craned his neck at the double “SEN” plastered on the entrance above and compared it to the characters on the scroll. His gaze flicked once more over the short summary of the Sen family: minor nobility with connections to the daimyo. That was it. 

 

The pair of solemn doors towered over the path, the only entrance into the estate. Lee gave two firm but courteous knocks, as clearly instructed in the mission brief. 

 

His knocks went unanswered, swallowed by the thick silence that covered the district. Somewhere behind those walls, a heady wail pierced the air and quickly stopped. Lee gulped, hand frozen mid-knock just in time to watch the doors creaked open. 

 

“Konoha shinobi Rock Lee reporting for duty!” Lee gave a bow, arms stiff by his sides.

 

For a moment there was no response and a long silence stretched on. Lee waited, still bent at the waist waiting for acknowledgement, just as the mission scroll advised. Seconds ticked by before the rustle of robes signified a small bow in return and a curt sniff broke the silence. “Welcome, Konoha shinobi, to the Sen compound.” The tone didn’t entirely fit one of welcome. 

 

Lee righted himself just in time to see the swish of silk robes and swing of a thick black braid as the Sen envoy began retreating back through the door without an introduction of his own.

 

“Please, follow me.”

 

As cool dark eyes stared back at him, Lee couldn’t explain why it felt like a pit had formed somewhere deep in his stomach. 

 

Paintings hung on the walls of the entrance. The lords of the clan, Lee had to guess, each one of them peering flatly out of those images. What strong features...he couldn’t help but touch his own brow. 

 

The guide didn’t move far down the hall before he ducked into a side room and returned, a basket draped in rucksack cloth in hand. It was immediately held out to Lee, the other man’s face expressionless except for a slight twitch of his mouth whenever he glanced down at the container...and then again whenever he made eye contact with Lee.

 

Lee’s mind raced to supply him with some sort of explanation. “Ah, so these are my clients belongings? I will happily aid them in transport!” He held out his hands, ready to accept.

 

Black eyes narrowed and a sharp snort escaped from the perfectly neutral face as the basket exchanged hands. The Sen man released his grip as if burned.

 

“When will my client...get…here...” Lee’s voice trailed off as he tested the basket’s weight in his hands. It felt oddly heavy and for a moment he thought he could hear what sounded like tiny rustles and breaths coming from within. ...Tiny breaths? After a life-time in war, dark possibilities quickly sprung into mind: poisonous snakes, Aburame-like parasitic bugs, dangerous summons.

 

Too fast for the other man to react, Lee tore off the covering and was ready to hurl the container back at its messenger. The rise and fall of a tiny belly wrapped in the faded print of old linens stopped Lee in his tracks. Dark lashes fluttered in sleep and little lips comically pursed with every breath. “A baby?” With hair as black and sleek as the man’s standing before him, the same sleek hair of the paintings surrounding them. Lee’s face burned with embarrassment. “A thousand apologies! I did not mean to disturb your family’s most precious child. I will make it up to the Sen family and my client or kowtow a hundred times to every member! ” 

 

His guide’s face was currently pinched in irritation as he firmly averted his gaze from both Lee and the basket. “There will be no need for that, shinobi.” Lee opened his mouth to protest, but the man continued. “The Sen family claims no connection to the child. This is why you will be escorting this delivery to the Konoha orphanage.” The Sen man’s voice was infuriatingly neutral despite look of disgust.

 

“So...you found the baby somewhere?” Lee ventured a hopeful guess. 

 

“The matter does not concern you.”

 

“What about the mother?” 

 

This time there was a hiss and a withering glare from the Sen representative, Lee’s comment finally breaking that cursed neutrality. “Its mother made a lapse in judgement, but she has returned to her senses and her duties.” The man frowned and slowly his flat expression returned, smoothing the rage from his face. “Those words do not leave this hall. Take the infant and go. You shinobi have done enough to sully the Sen family name.”

 

It took a moment, but the pieces slowly slotted into place.

 

Something burned in Lee’s chest and moved to push the basket back into the Sen’s arms. Only two years since the Fourth Shinobi War. Only two years since so many more names have been carved into the Memorial Stone with rows of black robes standing bowed around it. There were people who would actively tear their families apart? “I’m not taking the child away from its family!” 

 

“It has no family here.”

 

“You said that the mother is here!”

 

“And she has given up any claims to the child.”

 

“I’m. Not. Taking it.”

  
“...Then you condemn it to certain death.”

 

Sharp words cut through the air with an edge that made the burn intensify in his chest. The Sen remained still as a statue and made no move to accept the basket hoving before his face. Meanwhile the basket’s occupant slept with only a slight crinkle of its dark brows betraying any distress at the raised voices around it. 

 

One. Two. Three. Four...Lee counted the bricks separating the Sen from him, breathing in with carefully measured breaths and blowing out slowly through clenched teeth. One fist trembled at his side, the joints in his fingers nearly creaked with how hard he was clenching. The other continued to hold the basket with not even a shudder disturbing the frame. “You are making a mistake. Take the baby back...Please.” 

 

“I was not aware that the shinobi of the Leaf have become such bleeding hearts.” There was a wry tone in the Sen’s voice that brought Lee’s glare straight at the man, nobility or not. Dark eyes widened back at him, darting between Lee’s face and his half-raised fist. Lee couldn’t deny that he felt a sense of smugness when the Sen stepped back. The other man swiftly collected himself and folded his arms deep in his sleeves, Lee could swear that the man’s expression softened as he tried a new approach. “Complete your job, shinobi, and take the child to Konoha. If the gods will it, there will be a future for it there.” 

 

Lee’s anger sputtered. Taking the child away from its family...this was Wrong. A family doesn’t just give up it’s children, abandon them--but there was no convincing the Sen. Also at this point, simply leaving the child here and rejecting his mission could leave it with an even worse fate.

 

Before Lee realized it, he had tucked the basket back against his chest. His arms folded around its circumference putting something solid between the child and the supposed family. 

 

“I’ll take him.” 

  
  
  


The journey back to Konoha wasn’t nearly the triumphant race Lee had envisioned. 

 

Every leap from a branch was calculated, double checked, triple checked. Paths that Lee would have taken with heady glee were carefully avoided. With the basket slung tight around his shoulders, it felt as if he were transporting a most delicate relic instead of performing what was supposed to be a simple escort mission.

 

Why did Kakashi pick him? The Hokage’s soft words drifted through his mind.  _ “Simply put: you’re the best choice for this mission.” _

 

What had Kakashi expected? Why did he not send Naruto on this mission? Lee had no doubt in his mind that the hero of Konoha would have somehow shown the Sen that they were wrong in their decision to send their own blood away and have them repenting before his feet. That was Naruto’s specialty, wasn’t it? Not Lee’s.

 

Instead, he had frozen and duly accepted his assigned mission. 

 

Was that what the Hokage wanted? Expected?

 

Then there was another matter... 

 

_ Back at the entrance to the Sen compound, the representative offered Lee a curt bow. “We thank Konoha once more for its discretion and understanding.” As the man rose, Lee caught the look of… _ something  _ flash across his face before the gates shut before him. _

 

“Aargh! I don’t understand!” 

 

The trees whipping by offered no answers and his passenger simply slept. Not for the first time in this mission, Lee wished Gai and Tenten were with him. They would know what to do. In all honesty, the three of them would have carved a path of fury to the Sen clansman and demanded a change in heart...and caused a small war in the process. Lee sighed and just hooked his fingers through the basket loops. Through a break in the trees, he could make out the main road to Konoha. 

 

“Don’t worry, little baby. We’ll still make it back to Konoha before sunset. I promise!”

 

Of course, this would be the time for his passenger to let out a bawdy scream.

  
  


It was nightfall when Lee stumbled his way in front of the orphanage, a streak of spit-up on one shoulder and one of bandages on his arms half-undone, edges smeared with an unmentionable yellow-brown. A figure in black and white robes was waiting for them at the door.

 

“Ah, Kabuto. I guess news of my arrival preceded me!” Lee gave the orphanage head a strained grin as he tried to speak over ragged wails coming out of the basket now clutched to his chest. 

 

“I do believe the entire village knows of your arrival with your guest,” said Kabuto, yellow eyes narrowing in a smile that still sent most people shuddering. Lee just gave an embarrassed laugh. His passenger continued to be Not Amused.

 

Kabuto stretched out his arms towards the basket. “Is this the new charge Rokudaime informed me about?” 

 

For the remainder of the journey to Konoha, Lee could hardly wait to get the crying baby out of his care. With no supplies, Lee tried feeding it some water from his pack to little success and got vomited on for his efforts. And then it--well, actually,  _ him _ , Lee realized after he had to improvise a diaper--started to stink and cry even harder. (Thank goodness he had visited Naruto and Hinata when Boruto had been born or he would have been entirely clueless.) But now with Kabuto reaching out with welcoming arms and the doors to the orphanage open to a cheery light behind it, Lee’s hands forgot how to let go.

 

A pair of cool hands lightly gripped Lee’s wrists and gently tugged him forward. “Why don’t we both go inside, Lee? I think we can both help our guest.” Before Lee could respond, he was being shepherded through the open doors and into the empty kitchen. 

 

The smells that hit Lee almost sent him tumbling back into his memories: a mix of the mustiness of a large shared living space that the sharp antiseptic could never get rid of, the sweetness of bottled formula and pots of steaming congee, and the ever-present scent of laundry detergent. When he was younger, Lee hated that smell. 

 

“Lee, If I may?” Kabuto appeared from bustling through the kitchen cabinets and gestured at the haphazardly swaddled baby still squalling in Lee’s arms. The other man’s voice was disarmingly gentle...and Lee blearily recognized that tone was reminiscent of medic-nin tending to shellshocked shinobi at the end of the war. Odd, because this was hardly a wartime scenario.

 

“Oh. Yes. Of course.” Lee shook his head, trying to rid his mind of the cobwebs that seemed to fill it. 

 

The basket with its occupant was lifted from his grasp. Lee watched as Kabuto examined the makeshift diaper with an amused smirk and then passed a hand over the infant’s body, undoubtedly checking for disease or injury. Cursory examination complete, Lee earned a satisfied nod before Kabuto promptly placed the child back in Lee’s arms sans basket. “Hungry but healthy,” was all he stated before pressing a warm bottle into Lee’s free hand. “Give me a moment to find our supply of diapers.” And with that, Kabuto disappeared leaving Lee with the red-faced infant.

 

“Kabuto? Kabuto wait!” Lee called out. 

 

No answer. Except the rising pitch of cries from the tiny human in his arms.

 

There’s no other way around it. Lee looked between the warm bottle of formula in one hand and howling baby in the other. This should be pretty easy, shouldn’t it? “If I can’t feed you properly, I will help Kabuto feed the entire orphanage,” Lee gravely promised as he gingerly pushed the plastic nipple past the crying mouth. For a few seconds, it didn’t make any difference except garble the baby’s cries. But then the atmosphere changed as the only sounds in the kitchen were Lee’s steady breaths and the baby’s furious suckling. 

 

In the newfound quiet, Lee’s feet wandered from the kitchen and into the dimly lit halls. The hallways were new, the walls plaster where there used to be wood, the floors tile where there used to be concrete. Like the rest of Konoha, the orphanage has seen some rebuilding over the past years. Haphazardly drawn pictures were strewn across the walls, some on bright sheets of colored paper, some not so much on paper as they were on the walls themselves. A collection of games, toys, and blow-up weapons were piled neatly in what looked to be a playroom. The next room down housed a sizable collection of books. Lee could have continued moving aimlessly forward if Kabuto’s voice hadn’t floated over to him. 

 

“It has changed since you left.” The snake-like nin stood silently at the end of the hallway, his garish image tempered by a yellow cloth bag covered in...was that tiny ducks? 

 

A tightness Lee didn’t realize was clenched inside his chest eased away and he felt his mouth curve, wider and wider until his teeth gleamed with a glowing smile. “It’s happier now,” Lee beamed. “The children of Konoha couldn’t have a better caretaker.” What thumbs up Lee tried to give the other shinobi was mildly ruined by the sloshing bottle in his hand, but judging by the smile mirrored in Kabuto’s own face, it still wasn’t a bad Nice Guy Pose. 

 

The moment was interrupted when Kabuto delicately coughed into his sleeve. “I’m afraid it is getting late and I don’t want to keep you too long.” His strides accompanied by the slightest slithers, Kabuto closed the distance until he stood directly before Lee, arms held out towards the baby who was currently grunting into Lee’s elbow. “I can take things from here. I’m sure Rokudaime can get the report in the morning.”

 

Lee blinked. And blinked again. This was it. The end of his mission. And the Konoha orphanage a warmer place than the one buried away in his memories, Kabuto had made sure of that. And Kabuto would definitely be the best to take care of this child. And Lee obviously didn’t know the first thing about child care. But it would be the second time someone has thrown away the baby in one day. And no one should so easily abandon a child. And why weren’t his arms moving?

 

Was someone calling his name?

 

“Lee? Lee?”

 

He blinked and Kabuto’s face came back into focus before him. 

 

“Why don’t I show you how to change a diaper?”

**Author's Note:**

> The story started with more Rock Lee angst than I had ever been imagining. This work is unbeta'd but I would love to have someone to beat my story into shape and make sure I'm keeping our favorite Rock Lee in character as he runs the obstacle that is parenthood.


End file.
